Juncker Says Cyprus Worse Off Than Greece

The fiscal situation in Cyprus, the fifth Eurozone nation to seek a bailiout is “more serious than Greece,” a danger overlooked by markets, the financial bloc’s chief Jean-Claude Juncker said.

“My priority in the short-term for 2013 is Cyprus,” Juncker told reporters in Brussels. “It’s a problem one shouldn’t underestimate, because it’s more serious than Greece. This isn’t taken into consideration by the financial markets or the international press.”

That would bring the total to 16.8 billion euros, almost the size of Cyprus’s 17.9 billion-euro economy. The country’s general government gross debt will rise to 89.7 percent of gross domestic product this year, according to the European Commission. That figure does not take into account any aid Cyprus may receive.

“Cyprus’s debt is extremely high and the money they need makes up basically 100 percent of their GDP,” Juncker said in an interview with Bloomberg news agency. “It’s a very serious situation.” President Demetris Christofias said that Cyprus has an agreement in principle with the Troika of the European Union-International Monetary Fund-European Central Bank (EU-IMF-ECB) that is rescuing Greece.

The Cyprus deal is expected to be signed after the results of a fiscal examination is ready next month. “The negotiations have been difficult,” said Christofias, who is rejecting the same kind of austerity measures that were imposed in Greece.

come on greek cypriots you need to hurry up get that oil and gas out thats worth 100s of billions. Greece also holds 100s of billions of dollars worth of oil gas. Quite ironic that none of this is mentioned in the mainstream world news. Really cyprus should be one of the wealthiest countries in europe with those gas and oil finds. the turks must be kicking themselves for not invading the south of cyprus…shame on you….dumb ass turks…they can flex there muscles but dont have brains….